BNE to Athens Return in October best route?

[striking]

Hi FFers,

I generally try and travel when I can for conferences, its a great way to see places on the company's expense

This year the International Project Management Association (IPMA) world congress is being held at the island of Crete slap bang in the middle of the Mediterranean .

I have never visited this place before so I am really looking forward to spending some time at the must see places there and at destinations on the way over and back.

So here are the details:

Conference in Crete dates are 29-31 October 2012

Only carrier with SC' is Virgin were I am velocity Gold, however I made not re-qualify by October

Can anyone recommend the best route/carriers to take - would love to pickup discounted J but doubt that would happen and recommendations of places to stay and must see attractions.

Look forward to everyone thoughts and opinions!

 

[Alanslegal]

Quickest way would probably flying SQ (Singapore Airlines) with BNE-SIN-ATH and from there, either Olympic or Aegean Airlines. SQ credits to VA as far as I know

 

[Formal Hall]

Can do BNE-ATH on Etihad, but it will most likely have to be via SYD or MEL as Etihad BNE-SIN is only 3x weekly. Here is a business class sample route with a day or two either side of the conference. In business will earn 28,000 miles and 580SCS, so you would make Virgin gold on these flights alone. $7,500 is a lot, but could wait for a Etihad sale or do a mixed fare.

For BNE-ATH direct, go for SQ and then Aegean Athens to Crete and consider crediting the whole lot to Aegean's frequent flyer program. Even on a economy return ticket, you would make Star Alliance Gold due to Aegean's very generous program which requires only 20,000 miles to make gold level. Aegean Airlines | Gold Card Privileges

 

[MAX_1]

If you have a couple of days free before the conference , consider flying ATHENS - Santorini for 2 nights.

 

[striking]

Alanslegal, SQ would be fine to travel on especially now that have partnered with VA What are my chances of waiting for a discount J fare? how early are they normally published?

Formalhall, Great tip on the Aegean program! I might look into that. Would I need to join Staralliance in order to benefit from it though? I doubt I will be flying around Greece again any time soon. So to clarify, would I need to puts the creds to Aegean or star alliance to gain the biggest advantage.

$7.5k is way too much for me to spend on fights, my wife is travelling also and this would total 15K... So I have 300K Velocity status credits that I am saving for a J return trip for 2 to paris. What are my chances of scoring a discounted J for these flights and when are the most likely to come up?

As a last resort I can use points to upgrade, what is the most economical way to do this?

 

[Formal Hall]

The Aegean gold will automatically give you star alliance gold status on all star airlines. There is no separate star alliance status program as such. There is no minimum sector requirement for Aegean as far as I know, so you put the credits to Aegean and redeem miles/enjoy the status benefits on SQ, NZ, Thai etc...the only downside is that there is no domestic star alliance airline in Australia, unless Virgin changes its tune in the near future.

 

[GeeZed]

Alanslegal, SQ would be fine to travel on especially now that have partnered with VA What are my chances of waiting for a discount J fare? how early are they normally published?

ATM there is a local selling discounted business fare with SQ on the route of $6316 ++ so grossed up would be around $7100. If SQ did release a lower fare I very much doubt it would come in much lower judging on there past record and considering the trend is upwards at this time with fuel surcharges increasing almost daily. The best way to keep advised is to employ a TA Not all airfares are published, some are netts which are available only within the trade.

Other alternatives would be premium economy (not avail all carriers) or a mixed class through fare .. business/premium or economy/premium.

 

[markis10]

Asia to Rome can be had with One World in J for 3.5K return!

 

[docjames]

EK can one-stop via DXB but it currently looks around the $9k mark to do so.

SQ via SIN would seem a good option, and you could go Y to SIN and J to ATH.

 

[striking]

Some great advice here. Seems my best options are to get my way to asia (Singapore most likely and easiest) then onto Athens in on a discounted J carrier. Now the tough question, how long should I wait to search and find the best route and book? or alternatively, how soon before my travel date is it too late to expect better flight prices and risk of paying top prices?

Max_1 Thanks for the Santorini tip. I had that earmarked and your advice might be just enough to ensure a couple of day layover

 

[ozbeachbabe]

You can book the following direct on www.lufthansa.com but I would check with them to ensure if you will earn points on all of the flights particularly on the codeshare flights operated by SQ BNE/SIN/BNE.

The SIN/FRA/SIN flights are operated by the A380 aircraft. Note that you are able to select seats at the time of booking which doesn't appear to cost any extra. This also includes the codeshare flights operated by SQ.

[TABLE="class: results"]
[TR="class: head"]
[TD]Date
[/TD]
[TD="class: airport borderLeft"]Departure
[/TD]
[TD="class: airport"]Arrival
[/TD]
[TD="class: borders flightCol"]Flight
[/TD]
[TD="class: duration"]Duration
[/TD]
[TD="class: cabin"]Cabin
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: noWrap"]Wed 24 Oct
[/TD]
[TD="class: borderLeft"]14:40Brisbane
[/TD]
[TD]20:50Singapore
[/TD]
[TD="class: borders"]LH9773Operated by Singapore Airlines
[/TD]
[TD="class: noWrap"]29h10
[/TD]
[TD="class: cabin"]Economy (L)
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: noWrap"]Wed 24 Oct
[/TD]
[TD="class: borderLeft"]23:05Singapore
[/TD]
[TD]05:40+1Frankfurt
[/TD]
[TD="class: borders"]LH779
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="class: cabin"]Economy (L)
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: noWrap"]Thu 25 Oct
[/TD]
[TD="class: borderLeft"]09:05Frankfurt
[/TD]
[TD]12:50Athens
[/TD]
[TD="class: borders"]LH1278
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="class: cabin"]Economy (L)
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: borderTop"]
[TD="class: noWrap"]Tue 6 Nov
[/TD]
[TD="class: borderLeft"]18:00Athens
[/TD]
[TD]20:05Frankfurt
[/TD]
[TD="class: borders"]LH1283
[/TD]
[TD="class: noWrap"]29h15
[/TD]
[TD="class: cabin"]Economy (L)
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: noWrap"]Tue 6 Nov
[/TD]
[TD="class: borderLeft"]21:40Frankfurt
[/TD]
[TD]16:45+1Singapore
[/TD]
[TD="class: borders"]LH778
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="class: cabin"]Economy (L)
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: noWrap"]Wed 7 Nov
[/TD]
[TD="class: borderLeft"]21:15Singapore
[/TD]
[TD]07:15+1Brisbane
[/TD]
[TD="class: borders"]LH9772Operated by Singapore Airlines
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD="class: cabin"]Economy (L)
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Total Price

		Passengers
x	1 Adult	=	$
2375.12=	$

[TD="colspan: 2"]Fare
(per person)
[/TD]

[TD="colspan: 2"]Taxes, fees and carrier charges
(per person)
[/TD]

[TD="colspan: 2"]Total

[/TD]

[TD="class: price"]1528.00
[/TD]
[TD="class: space"][/TD]
[TD="class: space"]+
[/TD]
[TD="class: tax"]847.12
[/TD]
[TD="class: space2"][/TD]

[TD="class: rightAlignBold"]2375.12
[/TD]

[TD="class: rightAlign, colspan: 7"]Total Price for all passengers
[/TD]

[TD="class: rightAlignBold"]2375.12
[/TD]

Fare rules for Economy Basic

Changes The "Basic" ticket is changeable against a charge of EUR 120, as long as the originally booked class is still available. Otherwise, the difference to the next higher available "Basic" fare will be charged additionally .

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[admin]

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